Communication Commons^™

Understanding The Business Model Of Content Creation, Taylor Vahey

Honors Projects in Communication

Individuals who post niched consistent content to social media platforms have grown audiences, which presents an opportunity for content creators to monetize the attention their posts receive. Both content creators and marketing practitioners are using trial and error processes to learn how to utilize the newest online promotion strategy; influencer marketing. This research aims to outline the business operations from the perspective of the influencer. Research on all aspects of this industry is insufficient, with only a few hundred published peer-reviewed articles on the topic available. Most of the research focuses on the perspective of the audience or the marketing …

The Impact Of Doctor-Patient Communication, Health Literacy, And Mental Health Among Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus On Healthcare Usage, Marissa Stern

Honors Projects in Communication

Pregnancy is a critical period in a woman's life. Overall, little research has been done on pregnant women. Pregnant women are considered a special population with special needs. All pregnant women must receive proper care from their providers and be a part of the decision-making process. Additionally, health care providers must provide materials to patients in hopes to increase their health literacy. Increasing health care usage and health literacy is meant to increase patient-centered care. This study plans to use the All of Us data set. We are interested in the data from the survey component of the data set. …

The Influence Of Alcohol-Related Advertisements On College Students Behaviors And Attitudes, Meghan Mcdonald

Honors Projects in Communication

College students have been exposed to alcohol-related advertisements for several decades now and research has proven that this exposure has an influence on today’s population’s knowledge, attitudes, and intentions to drink (Saffer, 2002). The college student population has been shown to participate in excessive drinking leading to other potential risks and harms, such as increased rates of depression (Furr et al., 2001; Hingson, 2009). Furthermore, students who experience depressive symptoms may experience elevated risks for alcohol-related problems (Joiner et al., 1992). The goal of this paper is to examine different persuasion techniques that alcohol companies currently expose to college students …

Stories And Selling: The Impact Of Narrative Storytelling In Video Commercials, Gabriela Martin

Honors Projects in Communication

In a world where business is so closely tied together with the digital world, it can become easy to miss out on the human component of the marketing field. However, it is the narrative storytelling interwoven into advertisements that make them so compelling to consumers. Customers do not just want to be told about the features of a product, but rather they want to understand how having that product will make them feel. This storytelling can be communicated across several different forms of media, but it is especially apparent in the formatting of video commercials. While basic informational videos can …

We Are More Than Just Spectators: Feminist Psychology Theory Applied To Sports Psychology, Victoria Wypych

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

This study looks into the differences between females and male athletics. Since the creation of Title IV, equality in sports has developed more; but there is still not an even platform. Due to the 2021 NCAA basketball tournaments, it has become more evident that more work needs to be done to reach equality in the sports world. This study is going to compare the different levels of support in athletics of males and females via a survey questionnaire of athletes. A manipulative scenario will also be sent out regarding scenarios of male and female sports. This portion of the survey …

Quality Tv In The Streaming Age, Ryan Wood

Honors Projects in Communication

The purpose of this Honors Thesis is to explore how viewers define quality TV for themselves. This study places the quality TV discourse within the context of the rise of the streaming industry and the decline in traditional moviegoing. To carry out this study, a Qualtrics survey with closed-ended questions and open-ended contextual questions was administered to 162 students at Bryant University. The survey sheds light on the characteristics that viewers deem most important in assessing the quality of television series while at the same time identifying recent shows that viewers believe deserve the "quality TV" label.

If You Can't Take The Tweet: Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility Through The Lens Of Social Media Marketing, Julia Winterhalter

Honors Projects in Communication

Companies are increasingly taking action on societal issues and are aware of the impact that their corporate voice has on impressionable publics. Existing research focuses greatly on corporate social responsibility and the moral standards that set up companies to market themselves authentically to the values they build themselves on. The current study explores how three companies utilize their platform to share their values in relation to ethical issues arising in the modern world. Through the Twitter accounts of Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia, and Starbucks, a content analysis was conducted on their use of language related to their ethical standpoints on …

Intercultural Communication Competence And Empathy Among Physician Assistant Students: The Role Of International Experiences, Rachel Lerch

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

Having cultural competency and empathy towards others has become increasingly important, especially within the medical field. Experiential learning, such as study abroad has been shown to help increase intercultural communication competence (ICC) and empathy amongst students, which is important once those students enter the workforce. It is especially important for health care providers, such as Physician Assistants, to have high levels of ICC and empathy since they are in contact with patients from various cultures and need to have clear and comfortable communication with those patients. The purpose of this study is to confirm the relationship between ICC and empathy …

Adderall Experience During The College Years: A Reflection Of First-Hand Experiences, Sarah Ross

Honors Projects in Communication

Illicit Adderall use has long been acknowledged by the media. Despite its acknowledgement, students are still facing the challenges that come with illicit Adderall. The objective of this study is to allow students to express their own thoughts and opinions regarding illicit Adderall use and to broaden the types of experiences that are being reported. Interviews were conducted with seven college-aged students from a small university in Rhode Island. Three females and four males, 100% identifying as white, were asked a series of semi-structured interview questions. Interviews were conducted anonymously and held via Zoom on a private, password-protected computer. Interviews …

What Makes A Successful Social Media Influencer?, Catherine Jokela

Honors Projects in Communication

Social media have changed the way people communicate and live their lives. And as might be imagined, with new platforms come new opportunities. One of those opportunities is becoming a social media influencer. Social media influencers can earn fame and fortune, but how is that success measured? In depth interviews with Katy Bellotte and Mikayla Nogueira, two successful social media influencers, will be analyzed to answer the question, “What makes a social media influencer successful?”

Using A Live-Action Disney Movie – Beauty And The Beast – To Promote Improved Gender Role Awareness, Body Image, And Self-Confidence In Elementary School Children: A Media Literacy Parental Intervention Workshop, Samantha Turcotte

Honors Projects in Communication

Americans are bombarded with media messages, whether they are playing with their cell phones, tablets, streaming from their laptop, or watching television. There is no escaping the messages of mass media, and children are being exposed earlier than ever before. Media literacy skills are a necessary part of life, and there is a lack of media education in public school systems, which leaves it up to parents to teach their own children. The purpose of this research study is to gauge the behavioral intent of parents to speak with their child about media literacy with and without receiving a media …

Coping With Loneliness And Academic Success, Kristen Capobianco

Research and Innovation Village

This study examined the relationship between minority and non-minority status with the variables being: humor orientation, self-disclosure, perceived stress, emotional intelligence, loneliness, and academic success. Participants (n = 76) were asked to complete an anonymous survey on Qualtrics to determine the relationships amongst the variables. The results revealed that loneliness has positive effects on minority students.

Perceptions Of Bipolar Disorder In The Entertainment Media, Haleigh Resnick

Honors Projects in Communication

This is a literature review of empirical research. This literature review provides an overview of how mental health conditions, specifically bipolar disorder, are depicted in the media (television and movies) by examining relevant empirical research. The review also includes how stigmas are perpetuated in these media depictions.

This literature review included an extensive review of published literature in the past 50 years about mental health and bipolar disorder depictions in media (television and movies). Studies were included for their relevance on mental health conditions generally, and any specifics related to bipolar disorder. Studies were read for key statements about stigmas, …

Sexual Health And Hpv Vaccine Conversations: Enhancing Provider Communication For Young Women, Meaghan Angers

Honors Projects in Communication

Young women (ages 18-26) face a multitude of difficulties when choosing to disclose information regarding their sexual health to their provider. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the quality of patient-provider communication and the patient’s likelihood to receive the HPV vaccine with an explicit recommendation. Interviews were conducted with 11 young women (M = 21.36; SD = 2.46), with the majority identified as Seniors (n = 4; 36.4%), non-Hispanic (n = 10; 90.9%) and White (n = 9, 81.8%). Interviews were also conducted with two providers, one male and one female (M = 43.5; SD …

Protecting Children In A Hyper-Media World: Is Media Literacy The Answer?, Marissa Grasso

Honors Projects in Communication

The purpose of this study is to explore ways to protect young children from the harmful effects of media as they grow up in a hyper-media world. As a learned skill, media literacy must first be introduced to kids’ lives before they can benefit from its effects. Children are developing their brains, and until the age of 7 they do not have the cognitive capacity to retain and apply media literacy skills. Not having these skills exposes them to harms from advertisements and general content shows, movies, and video games. This exposure leads to issues in their lives such as …

Communicating In Crisis Situations, Rick Gorvett, Chris Morse, Julie Volkman

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Communicating technical information, especially in a crisis situation and particularly when the audience does not share the technical background, is a challenge that actuaries frequently face. This essay describes the dynamics and issues involved in crisis communications and provides some recommendations for actuaries confronting such a situation.

Social Media Usage Patterns: Research Note Regarding The Lack Of Universal Validated Measures For Active And Passive Use, Briana M. Trifiro, Jennifer Gerson

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

The existing literature regarding social media use provides extant evidence supporting the claim that usage patterns ultimately have the capability of impacting users. However, the vast majority of the literature is based upon experimental laboratory settings where participants are observed by researchers. The current article asserts that there is a significant deficiency within the discipline regarding the validated measurement of usage patterns of social networking sites (SNSs) and offers guidance for those who may want to develop a general measure.

Thinking About Engaging North Korea: A Study On The Framing Of The U.S. Human Rights Public Discourse In The Washington Post And New York Times Between 2001 And 2017, Rachael M. Rudolph

History and Social Sciences Faculty Journal Articles

North Korea said in January 2019 that it was exploring ways to engage the human rights issue. This was a much welcomed announcement because the issue must be addressed in order for the two countries to reach a formal, comprehensive peace agreement and the lifting or easing of unilateral sanctions. This study utilizes framing as an analytical tool to examine how the North Korean human rights discourse is framed in the United States for the purpose of identifying the salient rights‐based issues covered in two traditional media outlets, namely, the Washington Post and New York Times. Next, it reframes the …

Information Avoidance In Risky Financial Behavior, Shannon Foglia

Master of Arts in Communication

Maxing out credit cards, spending savings accounts, and only paying off the credit card minimum each month are all examples of risky financial behaviors that tend to get college students into debt. These risky choices can stay with a student long after college, making them unable to buy a home or achieve financial independence. As one of the last taboos, personal finances are rarely a topic of conversation among students and their social networks. This investigation uses the Theory of Motivated Information Management to understand what makes college students avoid information and communication regarding personal financial behaviors. Results showed that …

Cognitive Processing And Climate Change: The Impact Of Political Ideology On Processing Climate Change Information, Quinn Massaroni

Master of Arts in Communication

This study addressed information processing for climate change messages from representatives of a political party. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the political ideology of a message source and message sender and its impact on perceived hazard characteristics, negative affective response, and information processing behavior. Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2 posited that when the source and message receiver have the same political ideology, the receiver will experience heightened levels of concern about climate change. Hypothesis 3 and Hypothesis 4 posited that, regardless of the message source, participants are more inclined to heuristically process information. Research …

Trends In American Newspaper Coverage Of Autism, Allison Miller

Master of Arts in Communication

The public's understanding of disabilities is cultivated via several media resources, including news media. Disability scholars often cite negative representations of disabilities in mass media, yet analyses of newspaper journalists' coverage of autism remain scarce. The present study explores the frames, stereotypes, stigmatizing cues, and individuals cited in news coverage of autism through a content analysis of The New York Times and USA Today coverage of autism from 2013-2016. The findings revealed that episodic frames are consistently utilized to discuss autism. References to abnormal social tendencies and coupling autism with adverse circumstances were the most common stereotypes in newspaper coverage. …

Variables Predicting The Severity Of A Mass Shooting: The Connection To White Supremacy, Sarina Resnick

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Since mass shootings have become increasingly relevant in today’s society, the subject of what makes a mass shooting deadly has become more and more popular. This project focuses on how selected variables correlate with the severity of a mass shooting, and especially focuses on the impact of white supremacy ideology. Theoretically, a shooter imbued with this ideology will likely be more violent, thus causing a higher victim count (injuries + deaths). The other variables included in the model are: the use of a long gun, the use of multiple guns, the use of semi-automatic guns, mental illness, and shooter suicide. …

Foregrounding Morality: Encouraging Parental Media Literacy Intervention Using The Tares Test For Ethical Persuasion, Kevin Pearce, Stanley Baran

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

In the United States, children are exposed to literally hundreds of thousands of television commercials a year and virtually every aspect of kids’ lives are replete with commercial messages. The negative effects of this exposure are well documented. Yet, there remains very little regulation or limit on advertising to children beyond that which exists for adults. Additionally, only about 1/3 of U.S. parents wish for stronger controls. This presents a challenge for media literacy scholars and practitioners. Research has shown that, when presented with information about the negative effects of commercial messages, parents are more likely to adopt some form …

Patient-Centeredness In Electronic Communication: An Evaluation Of Patient-To-Healthcare-Team Secure Messaging, Timothy P. Hogan, Tana M. Luger, Julie Volkman, Mary Rocheleau, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Anna M. Barker, Kim M. Nazi, Thomas K. Houston, Barbara G. Bokhour

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Background: As information and communication technology is becoming more widely implemented across health care organizations, patient-provider email or asynchronous electronic secure messaging has the potential to support patient-centered communication. Within the medical home model of the Veterans Health Administration (VA), secure messaging is envisioned as a means to enhance access and strengthen the relationships between veterans and their health care team members. However, despite previous studies that have examined the content of electronic messages exchanged between patients and health care providers, less research has focused on the socioemotional aspects of the communication enacted through those messages.

Objective: Recognizing the potential …

Instagram Use And Its Effect On Well-Being And Self-Esteem, Briana Trifiro

Master of Arts in Communication

Over the last ten years, social media has become an integral facet of modern society. In particular, image-based social networking sites such as Instagram have become increasingly popular among adolescents and young adults. However, despite this proliferation of use, the literature remains divided regarding the potential impacts of social media, particularly in regards to image-based platforms. The present study sought to analyze the relationship between social media usage patterns and its subsequent effects on user self-esteem and well-being. However, the study’s results show that, despite the existing literature, intensity of Instagram use serves as a mediating variable in this relationship. …

Name Of The Game: A Media Analysis Of Concussion Terminology In Documentary Film, Kaitlyn Graham

Honors Projects in Communication

This project explores the way concussions are communicated to us through the use of documentary film. By examining the use of concussion related terms, as well as the tone and general word choice, it can be seen that there are certain words and phrases that are commonly left out, and others that are used too much. The differences in the usage of these words and tones reflects the current concussion crisis occurring in many contact sports around the world. This media analysis was conducted with the goal of finding trends in how concussions are discussed depending on the sport and …

Think Before You Click: An Analysis Of Facebook As A Source Of News, Lauren Malone

Honors Projects in Communication

The purpose of this study is to analyze how millennial college students perceive and interpret the news-related content that is posted on the social networking website Facebook. The news that this study is focused on is related to major events in American politics, especially this past Presidential election. One research question was developed to compete this study: what influence are news stories being shared on Facebook having on millennials? In order to determine the answer to this question, focus groups with college students at Bryant University were held in which the students were asked to evaluate a news article and …

Examining The Impact Of Communication And Leadership Styles Of Women: Perceptions Of Effectiveness By Subordinates, Samantha Scoca

Honors Projects in Communication

The number of female managers in American companies has been increasing with female management making up 63.4% of S&P 500 companies (Catalyst 2018). Female leaders have traditionally been at a disadvantage by social norms that surround masculine corporate America. Women have often been categorized as communal leaders that focus on the collective efforts of the team they manage (Eagly 1987). They communicate using interpersonally-oriented dimensions including collaboration, relationship building and information sharing as well (Appelbaum et.al 2013). Male leadership and communication styles, on the other hand, have been mentally associated with agentic qualities such as being aggressive and having results …

Advertisements’ Perpetuation Of Rape Culture: A Look At How Images Containing Objectification And Victimization Impact Consumers, Lauren Leedberg

Honors Projects in Marketing

The research I have conducted explores connections between images shown in advertisements and the perpetuation of rape culture and gendered stereotypes in society. It was guided by the Cultivation Theory which looks at how media, such as advertisements, can shape our reality. After an extensive literature review, data was gathered via an experimental design utilizing surveys. Within these surveys, respondents were randomly shown an advertisement I created containing the variables to be tested (i.e. images with objectification and victimization). After viewing the ad, they answered questions regarding their attitude toward the brand/product depicted, purchase intentions, a rape myth acceptance scale …

Division I Female Student Athletes’ Self-Image Perceptions And The Association With Photo Centric Social Media Platforms, Logan Paul

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

The purpose of this study is to describe self-image (body image) perceptions of female, Division I student athletes and discover how photo centric social media platforms and the frequency of their use may shape these perceptions. Body image is a complex phenomenon influenced by many factors including peers, parents, coaches, and social constructs. In the general population, data has shown that media messages play a powerful role in shaping perceived self-image and body satisfaction. Body image may not match the actual body and the athlete may strive more often to achieve a body ideal. It is hypothesized that female athletes …